Happy Belly Creamsicle Smoothie

A new favorite in our house! It’s good for your belly, definitely satisfies a sweet tooth and it’s super refreshing!

Ingredients

• 1 cup cultured goat milk kefir
• 2 oranges (juiced)
• 2 packets of stevia
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• two cups
• two straws

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients into a blender until mixed well
2. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Helpful Tips

• One cup of pureed strawberries, raspberries or mango would probably be as delicious if you’r not an orange fan!
• If goat kefir or yogurt grosses you out, plain yogurt or greek yogurt is a perfect substitute!
• Vanilla or flavored yogurt is okay too, but it will have added sugar that really isn’t necessary 🙂

Faithfulness vs Fruitfulness

I recently listened to a teaching by Christine Caine from the 2014 Passion Conference on Hillsong Church’s Secrets. There was one particular part that stood out above the rest and it convicted me pretty hard.

She said that faithfulness and fruitfulness are synonymous. They go together. You can’t have one without the other.

“15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last – dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip… 19 After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest in, and I have earned five more. 21 The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’… 24 Then the servant with one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose you money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’ 26 But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant!”…

We confuse this thing called faithfulness and fruitfulness. We think that because someone has been over an area of ministry for a long time, or because they’ve been coming to church for a long time, they’re faithful.

Notice, “faithful” was used when MORE was brought back. When nothing was brought back, “wicked and lazy” were used.

What we call faithful, God actually calls wicked and lazy!

What area of responsibility have we been given and what are we doing to be faithful and fruitful?

Kitchari

Kitchari (pronounced kitch-a-ree), I have read, is a staple food in India. It’s simple to make, easy to digest, and yummy 🙂

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup rice
• 1 cup yellow split lentils
• 6 cups water
• 3 TBS ghee
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp mustard seed
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
• Cilantro (for garnish)
• Avocado (for garnish)

Directions

1. In a large pot, cook the rice and lentils in the water until soft (aprox. 20 minutes)
2. In a separate small pan, sauté the spices in the ghee
3. Combine the mixture i the large pot and mix well
4. Serve with cilantro and avocado

Helpful Tips

• The lentils take more water to fully cook through, if 6 cups isn’t enough, it’s okay to keep adding more water until they’re soft

Raw Mini Chocolate Strawberry Cups

Cilantro-Lime Avocado Salad

 

Ingredients

• 1 romaine lettuce heart
• 1 cup spinach
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 3 green onion
• 1 avocado
• 1/2 can garbanzo beans (black beans are yummy too)
• Handful of pea shoots
• Juice of 2 limes
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 2 TBS rice vinegar
• Pinch of Himalayan salt
• Pinch of cayenne (optional)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, shred the lettuce, spinach, cilantro, green onion and pea shoots
2. Stir in lime juice, olive oil, rice vinegar and salt
3. Serve with avocado on top
4. Enjoy!

Helpful Tips

• I did this fast by shredding everything by the bunch with kitchen scissors
• We were worried that we would still be hungry after… Nope! Full! It makes two pretty large salads!

 

Raw Chocolate Millet Puffs

Ingredients

• 2 cups puffed millet
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup coconut nectar
• 1/3 cup cacao powder
• 3 TBS almond butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a sauce pan, melt the coconut oil and whisk in the  coconut nectar, almond butter and vanilla extract
2. Once evenly combined, mix with puffed millet in a large bowl
3. Using a mini cupcake pan and liners, evenly disperse
4. Let chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes
5. Enjoy!

Helpful Tips

• It’s okay if the mixture is a little runny – You’ll want the mixture to harden at the bottom so that they won’t fall apart!

For more tasty treats check out the Pick Me Ups page!

Think Before You Think

Do you ever wake up some days and you just feel so good, you’re feeling fresh, inspired, motivated, and you just love everyone? But then the next day you hit snooze after snooze after snooze wishing you could just sleep the day away?

Depending on how we feel, we react to people differently, look at things differently and look at ourselves differently. Far too often, we let our feelings dictate the atmosphere around us instead of truth.

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.

Unfortunately, I have not liked everyone I have met in my life thus far, as I’m sure most people would agree the same for them. And thankfully, I’ve not been commissioned to like them… but I have been commissioned to love them.

There are some days I start thinking of people who are no longer in my life and I miss them. I wish things had not turned out the way they did. Then there are days where I can’t stand the thought of some people and I wonder whatever possessed me to miss them.

Then I get mad at how immature I can be sometimes.

The other day though, I thought, what if I slowed down enough to think before I think. What I mean is, before I let myself think something of someone, I need to actually think of what God thinks about them first. And yes, that sounds cliche, but how often do we actually stop and make the mental shift?

Every person carries a part of Heaven that nobody else carries. A piece of the Father exists in each person that you’ll never find in any other person.

What God thinks about a person is truth, and when we take time to let truth dominate, our feelings are silenced. They have no place and no say. They cannot rule our day or anything in our life. They cannot effect our relationships. Instead of sulking all day or rehearsing fictional arguments in our heads for hours, we start to actually enjoy life.

Green Tea Frappuccino

I absolutely love matcha tea so when I concocted what tastes exactly like Starbucks Green Tea Frappuccino, I was beyond ecstatic.

It’s super simple, low glycemic, raw, and full of nutrients!

Ingredients

• 1 TBS Matcha Powder (you can find it online, Whole Foods, Nuitrifoods)
• 1 Cup Unsweetened Coconut Milk (you can use any unsweetened nut milk if preferred)
• 1 TBS Coconut Nectar (or rice malt syrup, maple, etc.)
• 2-3 Ice cubes

Directions

• Combine all ingredients in a blender
• Pour in cup and serve with a straw 🙂
• Enjoy!

Helpful Tips

• Keeping it to coconut products will keep it low glycemic and the most nutritious
• Other sweeteners will give it a more sugary taste, but I think it tastes just like Starbucks with the original ingredients

Raw Strawberry-Lemon Pies

The perfect treat for valentines day ❤
I made these last night and they are DELISH!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup almond meal (or other nut)
• 2 cups figs (aprox. 30)
• 2 cups coconut cream
• 2/3 cups cashews
• 3/4 cup strawberries
• 4 TBS coconut nectar (divided)
• 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
• Juice from one whole lemon

Directions

1. Line 4 ramekins with parchment paper
2. In a food processor, pulse figs and almond meal until evenly blended (will be very sticky)
3. Split the fig and almond meal mixture into four and press into each ramekin, lining the bottom and walls
4. Clean out food processor and puree coconut cream, cashews, lemon zest, lemon juice and 2 TBS of coconut nectar
5. Place in a bowl and set aside
6. Clean out the food processor again and puree the strawberries and remaining 2 TBS of coconut nectar
7. Pour coconut and lemon mixture evenly into all four ramekins
8. Pour strawberry mixture in the center of each ramekin and swirl around with a fork
9. Place in freezer to store
10. Partially defrost to serve and eat 🙂

Helpful Tips

• Use a food processor! I don’t own one, so it makes for a very frustrating process to make the crust
• When serving, defrost but not all the way, as it doesn’t stay solid with refrigerator temperatures

 

No-Mess Chocolate Covered Strawberries

These have recently been huge success wherever I take them. Sometimes that bums me out because I really enjoy leftovers 🙂 Whether dark or milk chocolate, these are addicting and I’ve found an easy, clean way to make them!

Ingredients

• Strawberries (I get the big container)
• 1 pound of dark or milk chocolate (if using the small or regular sized strawberry packages, you’ll only need 1/2 pound)
• Toothpicks

Directions

• Preparation is key! Start by washing your strawberries
• Once washed, cut the tops off and set on a paper towel
• Once all have been cut, dab them dry with the paper towel and set aside
• Using a double boiler (or a pot with a pyrex bowl), boil about an inch of water
• Break apart the chocolate and set in double boiler or pyrex bowl
• While the chocolate melts (make sure to watch and stir every so often), place your strawberries top down on a paper towel and stick toothpicks in the top (pointed end)
• Get a baking tray out and line with wax paper (hopefully you’re still keeping an eye on the chocolate)
• When the chocolate is ready, dip the strawberries in the chocolate by holding from the toothpick
• Gently twirl the strawberry around above the chocolate to get rid of excess drippings
• Place the strawberry on the baking tray
• Once finished with all the strawberries, let cool in the fridge for about 20 minutes
• Then enjoy!

Helpful Tips

• Preparation is key! Make sure you have everything you need and at in an easily accessible area!
• Once the water is boiling, turn on medium heat so to not burn the chocolate in case you forget about it while preparing the strawberries!